


Beneath the Panakes

by faithtrustandpixiecuts



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Comedy, Empath, F/M, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Picnics, Romantic Comedy, custard burst, grady and edaline being great parents, sophie's kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25219816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithtrustandpixiecuts/pseuds/faithtrustandpixiecuts
Summary: Sophie's in one of her ruts, and the fluffy ball of chaos that is Iggy just isn't brightening her mood anymore. When she finally ventures outside for the first time in weeks, Keefe has a surprise waiting for her. (It's a picnic!)
Relationships: Sophie Foster & Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen, Sophie/Keefe, sophie & keefe
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Beneath the Panakes

**Author's Note:**

> lmao this is the ~sokeefe~ we all needed. dedicated to sophie's missing eyelashes

Elves weren't really raised with necessarily 'bad' words. Good enough for Sophie, though, she had been made aware of  _ plenty _ because of her human upbringing to describe her current situation, and she didn't hesitate to use them. 

"Fuck," Sophie muttered under her breath as she plopped down at the family dinner table for breakfast for the first time in days. She had been cooped up in her room for weeks now, feeling disappointed in herself because of a failed mission for the Black Swan. She couldn't stop blaming herself for their defeat, and because Keefe had been injured in the battle. That's what really stung. He had jumped in front of an attack meant for her. She couldn't let herself think of the specifics, she felt too guilty. And it doesn't help that she hadn't reached out to apologize or talk about it. She shook herself out of the memory and back to reality.

Her meal was lukewarm at best, and Grady and Edaline sat opposite each other at the far end of the table, meals half-eaten already. Edaline looked puzzled and asked, "Fouk? Is that a message Silveny transmitted to you? I don't recognize the language." Sophie cracked a smile, even chucking for a bit while she decided on how to respond. Her thoughts flashed to Keefe, and she wondered how he would use this opportunity. 

"That's- that is  _ exactly _ what that was. Fuck.... Fuck! Fuck? I can't figure out what it means for the life of me. Maybe the name of her baby? We welcome to the world baby Fuck. Beautiful." Sophie said with a feux serious face. Sophie noticed Grady had a look of confusion on his face, but quickly it was replaced with a caring smile, glad she had finally started making fun of something again. 'I had a bright idea this morning, actually," Grady said, amused, taking advantage of this Positive Sophie moment. "What would you say, Sophie, to a picnic underneath the Panakes tree with one of your friends today? You don't have to, of course, but a certain someone has been annoy- well, pressuring us- for days now." Sophie started to tug out an eyelash just thinking about seeing someone other than her adopted parents, but stopped herself, realizing who they must be talking about.

Sophie protested for a bit, but Grady and Edaline finally convinced her. Grady ended the conversation, saying "Sophie- if we're purposefully allowing you to spend time with a boy alone, you know we're serious." Edaline hinted, "At this point, Sophie, it's less of a suggestion and more of a strong,  _ strong _ request." Sophie sighed in defeat. "Fine." Edaline let out a breath she was holding, contentedly. "Well that's good, because we were going to find a way to get you out there anyway." Edaline paused, as if she were expecting Sophie to just skip out the door at this very moment. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she inquired, her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Sophie stuttered, "I- Wait, you guys planned this already? I just got out of bed, I'm barely dressed!" She shook her head, but she realized that even elven pajamas were better than regular human attire. And she had at least brushed her teeth, right? "Fine," Sophie said, relenting to Grady and Edaline's 'strong request' and starting to put on her boots. "I'll be back soon. He better have brought Mallowmelt."

She left with one last glance at Grady and Edaline, a purposefully false look of blame shot across her face, but was quickly replaced with a smirk, thanking them with her eyes. Dashing out the door, the last thing Grady and Edaline saw before the door closed was Sophie tugging on her on her right boot (not her eyelashes for the first time ever) and clumsily dashing off to find Keefe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first thing Sophie saw when she was running up the hill toward the Panakes tree was a singular, pristine, glorious custard burst peeping out over the edge of a wicker basket, probably made by gnomes. When she got a little closer, she could also see a note peeping out from underneath the basket, looking like it had been purposefully hidden by its author. Sophie giggled when she saw the form of a tall, lean and messy-haired blonde laying on a baby blue picnic blanket with his arms crossed underneath his head. 

"Took you long enough, Foster," Keefe exclaimed with his trademark grin as he sat up to face her. He sat with his legs crossed, arms propped against his knees, and his head in his hand. He pouted and whined, "I've been waiting for an hour now and all I've had to distract me are memories of Glitter Butt and I, my long lost not-a-horse-but-almost-a-horse lover." Sophie smiled, but her hands instinctively clasped together, and she couldn't help but flashing back to the attack. She pursed her lips and Keefe's head instinctively shot up. "Woah, Sophie, that's a huge wave of shame I'm feeling right now. I know it's been a while and all I wanted to do was help out. I-I'm sorry if I-" Sophie interrupted with, "No, Keefe, it's not you. I just feel bad because I never reached out about what you did for me, and here you are in all your self-sacrificing, custard-burst-making, cute, messy-haired glory!" Keefe went to flex his biceps but winced as the motion stretched his side, which seemed to be injured. Keefe shook it off, decided to instead put on the charm and said, "All of that other than the word 'cute'? Over my head. Gone. Whoosh!" He made a little wave motion with his hands, then, with his hand on his side, slowly got up and approached Sophie. 

"I don't even want to know the amount of things I've said that you've decided to cherry-pick for your benefit, Keefe." Sophie said with a caring smile, her hands folding in front of her as he came closer. She looked down at the spread of food in front of her, her smile growing wider as she saw that he had already set up the picnic array. She pointed to a plate that had something that looked like a crudely made sandwich and her favorite flavor of custard burst, raspberry. "You remembered..." She said, softly, still looking at the spread. Keefe used two fingers to bring her chin up so they were face to face again. "Don't forget who's the real dessert here, Foster," he said with a smirk, and did a spin, probably to show off the goods. "The Keefester never forgets." He flashed a bright smile, his eyes crinkling as he inadvertently looked her up and down. "Glad to see you've decided to go with Supermodel Sophie mode today, the effort you've put into this look just for me is exquisite." He laughed, and Sophie knew it was just kind-hearted fun, but she decided to play along. "Oh, I know right. I might just be the most beautiful person in the world, aside from you, Your Royal Pranksterness." She giggled, and Keefe pressed his lips together, then smiled genuinely. "I could never take your title, Foster." He squinted, narrowing his gaze onto a spot on her shoulder. "Even with Iggy drool on your shirt." She gasped and looked down, but there was nothing there. Keefe laughed, then brushed imaginary dust off of her shoulder. 

Sophie smiled at him, and looking at that charming glint in his eye, she couldn't help but be grateful for everything that he'd done for her. "Keefe, I just wanted to thank you for what you did in there. It's hard, you know, when you feel like everyone expects so much from you but you can't even help yourself. You keep on saving me." She looked down, wanting to choose the right words. She looked him in the eyes, and was met with a rare sight. Serious Keefe. "You do so much for me, even this, even now. I stay silent for weeks, and you're still here for me. Why?" Keefe looked down, sadness in his eyes. "Look, Sophie, I feel what you're feeling, quite literally, and I always have. If I could be someone who could help with that, even just a little, then I want to be that person." He adjusted himself, grabbed her hand, and put on a brave smile. "I want to be  _ your _ person." Sophie lightly laughed to break the tension, and moved her hand from his grasp to hide the blush that had started forming on her cheeks. The moment was broken, but the connection was still there, and they both felt it. Keefe coughed to break the silence. “Well, on that note, let’s eat!” 

They both sat down on opposite ends of the picnic blanket. Sophie had offered to help him down, but Keefe comically faked hurt at the proposition and lowered himself down. Sophie giggled and plopped down. Before she dug in, she decided to lean back and take a look at her surroundings. The Panakes tree was close enough to cast some shade on them, but far away enough for Sophie to see its wonder and think about Calla’s radiance as well. It was nearing sunset, and the view of the ocean was spectacular (if you looked past Keefe digging into his sandwich). Sophie couldn’t help the stray thought that told her that that part of the view may also have been pretty wondrous in his own special way. 

She didn’t want to keep staring, so she cautiously tried the ‘sandwich’. It tasted exactly like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from back home, and it struck her as oddly natural that this would be Keefe’s comfort food. He’s a bit childish, maybe, but she’d always go back to him. His messy hair and striking blue eyes felt like home to her now, a constant, even with all of the drama that is currently going on in Sophie’s world. Dex and Fitz may be some of her closest friends, but there were times when they drew apart, and in the back of her mind, she knew none of them would think of doing special, specific things like this for her. She trusted them completely and knew they would do anything for her, but only Keefe ever knew what she needed. Her heart swelled at the thought, and she realized in this moment who she had neglected to see all along.

At this point in her thought process, she had gotten so flustered by just the idea of him that he was kind of getting jealous of his sandwich. Keefe must’ve sensed that, because he asked, “Foster, why do you look like you want to murder my Sandywitch?” Sophie burst out laughing. “ _ Sandywitch _ ? Are you kidding?  _ That’s  _ its name?” Keefe looked a bit hurt by this comment. He mumbled, “Maybe…” Sophie continued laughing and went to go sit over next to him. “Okay, you have to show me what you put into this. Open the Sandywitch up, Keefe.” Keefe made the tactical choice to defend the Sandywitch from Sophie. They wrestled for it- Sophie jokingly threatened Keefe’s life, and Keefe begged for mercy- until Sophie ended up on top of Keefe, holding the hostaged Sandywitch above his head. 

“What do I have to do to get my prized possession back?” Keefe asked, fake terror on his face. Sophie set it back down on his plate without breaking eye contact and leaned in closer. Keefe looked genuinely bewildered and unprepared for this situation. Sophie put her lips next to his ear and whispered, “ _ It’s mine now. _ ” She grinned, pulled back, and transmitted “Fight me.” Keefe looked up for a challenge. He smirked and went to tickle her. He finally claimed victory when their previous positions had been flipped, and he was now over top of her, her hands pinned over her head by one of his. 

“What did I win again?” Keefe asked smugly. He could feel the energy that was between them. So could Sophie, and she wasn’t even an Empath. “You choose.” She replied, as a smirk slowly spread across her face. Keefe clicked his tongue. “Tsk tsk tsk, Foster. You make this too easy.”

He leaned in slowly and felt her let out short breaths. Before he closed the gap between them, he whispered, “Is this okay?”. She softly laughed and kissed him gently, as if she didn’t want to ruin the moment. They stayed there for a moment, and then Sophie pulled away. “A shame my hands aren’t free,” she whispered, and he let go of her hands. They both laughed a little bit as they sat up and faced each other. Neither knew what to say. 

“Foster, I,” Keefe started to say, but was interrupted by Sophie quickly pulling his face toward hers and kissing him harder than before. After a while, he figured he needed somewhere to put his hands as well, so he hugged her waist and pulled her body closer. After the first rush of adrenaline, Sophie relaxed into Keefe, her arms sliding around his neck, and they kissed slowly, but passionately, until Keefe broke away. He laid his forehead against hers, and chucked in disbelief. “You can’t believe how long I’ve wanted to do that, Sophie.” She rubbed her nose against his and smiled, letting out a sigh. “I didn’t even know I had that in me.” Keefe laughed and pulled away, looking her up and down. “I’m sure you have a lot in you that neither of us know about.” She pushed him away, laughing. “Shut up, Keefe.” Sophie leans back, smiling. However, her hand had a different idea. It landed right on top of Keefe’s custard burst. 

“Foster, how come you always ruin everything,” Keefe said, jokingly, knowing she’d snap back at him. “You’re gonna regret that one,  _ Sencen _ !” she said, making fun of his nickname for her. Using the custard covered hand, she grabbed his shirt, and pulled him in for another kiss, but left him pouting after only a few seconds. She got up, and offered her clean hand for him. He took it and stood up, acting like a big-eyed puppy.

As they both walked back down the hill, neither of them let go. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fic! Hope you enjoy :)


End file.
